The use of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) to sample the blow microbiome of small cetaceans

Centelleghe, Cinzia; Carraro, Lisa; Gonzalvo, Joan; Rosso, Massimiliano; Esposti, Erika; Gili, Claudia; Bonato, Marco; Pedrotti, Davide; Cardazzo, Barbara; Povinelli, Michele; Mazzariol, Sandro

doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0235537

Cited by 31 publications

(24 citation statements)

References 36 publications

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“…Among odontocetes, to the authors' knowledge, drones have only been implemented to study a few species of dolphins. Example applications have included identifying dolphin presence and habitat use [137][138][139][140][141][142].…”

Section: Traits Of Dolphinsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In contrast, customised drones allow for more dedicated research to be conducted but requires more specialised piloting experience. For example, custom appendages have been implemented on multirotor drones to allow the collection of dolphin microbiome to study dolphin health [141,142].…”

Section: Drone Selection For Dolphin Researchmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Christiansen, et al [46] undertook a detailed investigation of the ability of marine mammals to hear drone-produced noise underwater and concluded that while dolphins near the surface may hear the drone approaching, the propeller noise is likely to be masked by ambient noise. Although the underwater noise disturbance caused by drones flying at low altitude is expected to be small, there is growing scientific evidence reporting significant behavioural reactions of bottlenose dolphins to the presence of drones [141,143,144]. All available evidence suggests that when a small drone is flown at an altitude between 10-30 m above bottlenose dolphins, short-term behavioural responses occur [141,143,144].…”

Section: Behavioural Impacts Of Drones On Dolphinsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Although the underwater noise disturbance caused by drones flying at low altitude is expected to be small, there is growing scientific evidence reporting significant behavioural reactions of bottlenose dolphins to the presence of drones [141,143,144]. All available evidence suggests that when a small drone is flown at an altitude between 10-30 m above bottlenose dolphins, short-term behavioural responses occur [141,143,144]. Behavioural reactions were generally of short duration and largely limited to individual responses such as deep diving, turning toward the drone, side rolling, change in swimming direction and tail slap.…”

Section: Behavioural Impacts Of Drones On Dolphinsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Operational Protocols for the Use of Drones in Marine Animal Research

Raoult

Colefax²,

Allan

et al. 2020

Drones

100

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The use of drones to study marine animals shows promise for the examination of numerous aspects of their ecology, behaviour, health and movement patterns. However, the responses of some marine phyla to the presence of drones varies broadly, as do the general operational protocols used to study them. Inconsistent methodological approaches could lead to difficulties comparing studies and can call into question the repeatability of research. This review draws on current literature and researchers with a wealth of practical experience to outline the idiosyncrasies of studying various marine taxa with drones. We also outline current best practice for drone operation in marine environments based on the literature and our practical experience in the field. The protocols outlined herein will be of use to researchers interested in incorporating drones as a tool into their research on marine animals and will help form consistent approaches for drone-based studies in the future.

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Section: Traits Of Dolphinsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Drone Selection For Dolphin Researchmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Behavioural Impacts Of Drones On Dolphinsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Behavioural Impacts Of Drones On Dolphinsmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

Operational Protocols for the Use of Drones in Marine Animal Research

Raoult

Colefax²,

Allan

et al. 2020

Drones

100

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Some rare cases attempted to monitor animals in a nonoptical manner, and bioacoustic detection and classification are used with pattern recognition [ 73 ] or the means to acquire samples originated from wild animals [ 74 , 75 , 76 , 77 ]. It can be complicated to combine the bioacoustic approach with an RPAS due to the operational noise of the aircraft.…”

Section: Rpas Application For Wild Animal Detection and Monitoringmentioning

confidence: 99%

Remotely Piloted Aircraft System (RPAS)-Based Wildlife Detection: A Review and Case Studies in Maritime Antarctica

Hyun

Park

Lee

2020

Animals

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In wildlife biology, it is important to conduct efficient observations and quantitative monitoring of wild animals. Conventional wildlife monitoring mainly relies on direct field observations by the naked eyes or through binoculars, on-site image acquisition at fixed spots, and sampling or capturing under severe areal constraints. Recently, remotely piloted aircraft systems (RPAS), also called drones or unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV), were successfully applied to detect wildlife with imaging sensors, such as RGB and thermal-imaging sensors, with superior detection capabilities to those of human observation. Here, we review studies with RPAS which has been increasingly used in wildlife detection and explain how an RPAS-based high-resolution RGB image can be applied to wild animal studies from the perspective of individual detection and population surveys as well as behavioral studies. The applicability of thermal-imaging sensors was also assessed with further information extractable from image analyses. In addition, RPAS-based case studies of acquisition of high-resolution RGB images for the purpose of detecting southern elephant seals (Mirounga leonina) and shape property extraction using thermal-imaging sensor in King George Island, maritime Antarctica is presented as applications in an extreme environment. The case studies suggest that currently available cost-effective small-sized RPAS, which are capable of flexible operation and mounting miniaturized imaging sensors, and are easily maneuverable even from an inflatable boat, can be an effective and supportive technique for both the visual interpretation and quantitative analysis of wild animals in low-accessible extreme or maritime environments.

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Bottlenose dolphins share fish farm areas while maintaining sexual segregation: Investigating group memberships through spatially and temporally explicit parameters

Bonizzoni¹,

Genov

Bearzi

2022

Aquatic Conservation

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Group membership is a key attribute of animal societies and central to the study of social structure in several taxa. However, social structure analyses are sensitive to the way data are collected and associations defined. In this study, a time–space method was used to investigate the social structure of common bottlenose dolphins Tursiops truncatus observed and photographed across 7 years in the semi‐enclosed Gulf of Corinth, Greece. Instead of adopting traditional group definitions, individuals were considered as being members of the same group if photographed within a specific time and space window. This approach can be applied post hoc across studies and can offer advantages under challenging sampling conditions (e.g. when dealing with groups spread over vast areas or when group membership is otherwise hard to assess). Dolphins were mostly found around coastal cage aquaculture facilities farming European sea bass Dicentrarchus labrax and gilthead seabream Sparus aurata. Dolphins formed clusters largely or entirely composed of individuals of the same sex, suggestive of sex‐based homophily. Habitat partitioning was not detected: there was substantial spatial overlap among dolphin clusters, with all individuals using a relatively small area in the northern portion of the Gulf, where most of the productive fish farms were located. Associations between females were stronger than those between males, and daughters tended to stay in the group of their mothers. Sex‐based social clustering may allow females and calves to limit interactions with potentially aggressive males, while individuals of both sexes benefit from prey concentrated around fish farms. Adaptation to foraging around farms can result in trade‐offs between the costs and benefits of nourishment and social interaction. This may have both positive or negative effects on the animals that should be considered in the context of ensuring their favourable conservation status.

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The use of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) to sample the blow microbiome of small cetaceans

Cited by 31 publications

References 36 publications

Operational Protocols for the Use of Drones in Marine Animal Research

Operational Protocols for the Use of Drones in Marine Animal Research

Remotely Piloted Aircraft System (RPAS)-Based Wildlife Detection: A Review and Case Studies in Maritime Antarctica

Bottlenose dolphins share fish farm areas while maintaining sexual segregation: Investigating group memberships through spatially and temporally explicit parameters

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